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Economists: Hey, Maybe the US Won’t Default on August 3rd

Although failing to raise the debt ceiling by the early August deadline would plunge the United States into a sea of uncertainty, the government might be able to pay the bills and avoid a default on obligations for longer than expected, economic analysts said.

As lawmakers and President Obama rush to craft an agreement to increase the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling, the Treasury Department is standing by its estimate that the government will need to borrow more money after Aug. 2 to pay for all its obligations.

But several new reports — from UBS, Barclays and Wells Fargo — have cast doubt on that estimate. Analysts have said that daily tax receipts have been higher than anticipated and that the Treasury has quite a bit of cash on hand.

As of Friday, according to the Treasury, the government had $85 billion in cash.

UBS estimates the government would run out of money to pay all bills no sooner than August 8.

And have you noticed that usually there’s not a problem in the world that the Treasury can’t solve by firing up the printing press, but in this case Turbo Tim & Company are acting entirely hamstrung by the situation?

Whatever happens, I’ll bet a hundred bucks that they manage to find enough money to pay two things: Congress and the IRS.

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About Doug Powers

Doug Powers is a writer, editor and commentator covering news of the day from a conservative viewpoint with an occasional shot of irreverence and a blast of snark.
Townhall Media editor. MichelleMalkin.com alum. Bowling novice.